Now Iceland and Co-op have announced they are putting their weight behind the Deposit Return Scheme with Iceland even offering to host a DRS reverse vending machine within a number of its stores for the Government to trial.

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David Smith, science policy officer at SAS, said that when corporates start backing an environmental campaign, it means such projects are onto a winner.

Surfers Against Sewage, 38 Degree, the Marine Conservation Society and cross-party MPs including Caroline Lucas and St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double take the Message in a Bottle campaign petition from SAS to 10 Downing Street and Parliament (Image: Philippa Velhinho)

He said: “Getting big corporates to back the campaign was the last hurdle for the deposit return system to be introduced.

“We have been lobbying Defra and the treasury for weeks and the government have now launched a number of inquiries about it. There is definite support from the government for the scheme.

“It’s not so much of a surprise to see corporates following suit. They will not want to be caught out if some legislation gets passed.

“There’s always been a cold feeling from corporates towards the scheme who may have perceived it as extra costly. But in reality it’s a deposit return scheme so it provides a good service for consumers.

“There is massive support from consumers for the scheme and growing pressure both from the public and now from the Government.”

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The announcement that Iceland and the Co-op are backing the bottle deposit return system (DRS) as a way of tackling the growing threat of ocean plastic pollution comes as several NGOs including SAS and Greenpeace continue to apply pressure on the Government.

Scotland has already decided to introduce a DRS and England and Wales are currently considering the option.

Richard Walker, director for Sustainability at Iceland Foods, said: "Every minute, a truckload of plastic waste enters our oceans. In Britain, we are failing to recycle up to 16 million single use plastic bottles every day.

"This cannot carry on. It is causing untold damage to our oceans and wildlife. It is also a ticking time bomb for humanity, since we all ultimately depend on a healthy ocean environment for our own survival.

"Deposit Return Schemes work. In Norway theirs has led to 96% of all bottles being returned, with similar results in other countries that have adopted a DRS. Britain urgently needs to do the same.

"Introducing a DRS may well add to our costs of doing business. However, we believe it is a small price to pay for the long term sustainability of this planet. I urge all other retailers to do the right thing and follow suit."

In three months more than 65,000 plastic bottle tops were collected from Cornish beaches and threaded together to form a chain over 1.1km long (Image: Greg Martin)

Louise Edge, from Greenpeace, welcomed the corporate backing to the campaign, saying: “It is possible to prevent throwaway plastic polluting our rivers and oceans, but to achieve this we really need companies to step up to the plate.

“That’s why it’s brilliant to see Iceland and the Co-op coming out in favour of deposit return schemes – one of the tried and tested solutions needed to end the ocean plastic pollution crisis.

“Iceland and Co-op have shown some vision and set the standard – now its time for other companies to follow suit and start publicly backing deposit return schemes.”